PANAVIA TORNADO IDS

RAF designations: GR. Mks 1, 1A, 1B, 4 and 4A

TYPE:

All-weather close air support/battlefield interdiction, interdiction/counter-air strike, naval strike and reconnaissance aircraft.

PROGRAMME:

Structural design completed August 1972.
First flight on August 14, 1974 by first of nine prototypes.
Tornado name adopted in September of 1974.
German procurement approved on May 19, 1976.
Production programme initiated on July 29, 1976 by three-government MoU for 809 aircraft in six batches (640 IDS, 165 ADV, plus 4 preseries aircraft upgraded to IDS production standard).
Italian production approved on March 8, 1977.
First flight by production IDS in UK, July 10, 1979.
First flight by production IDS in Germany, July 27, 1979.
First flight by Italian production aircraft, September 25, 1981.
Final Italian aircraft delivered on July 12, 1989.
Final German IDS, May 31, 1989.
Final ECR and last German-built Tornado delivered on January 28, 1992.
Final RAF GR. Mk 1 delivered on November 19, 1992.
Production for Saudi Arabia continued until 1998.

DESIGN FEATURES:

Continuously variable-geometry shoulder wings, with leading-edge sweep angles from 25° (minimum) to 67° (maximum) on movable portions (limited to 63° when 2,250 litre drop tanks carried).
High wing loading to minimize low-altitude gust response.
Swivelling wing pylons to retain stores alignment with fuselage.

STRUCTURE:

Basically all-metal (mostly aluminium alloy with integrally stiffened skins, titanium alloy for wing carry through box and pivot attachments).
Dielectric panels and interface between fixed and movable portions of wings.
Teflon plated wing pivot bearings.
Elastic seal between outer wings and fuselage sides.
Nosecone hinges sideways to starboard for access to radar antennae.
Slice of fuselage immediately aft of nosecone also hinges to starboard for access to forward avionics bay and rear of radars.
Passive ECM antenna fairing near top of fin.
Ram air intake for heat exchanger at base of fin.
Alenia builds entire outer wing (including moving surfaces), with Microtecnica as prime contractors for sweep systems.
Bae (Warton) builds front and rear fuselage portions (including engine installation), nosecone and entire tail unit.
DASA is prime contractor for centre-fuselage (including engine intake ducts, wing centre-section box, pivot mechanism, and interface with outer wings).

Details below apply to basic IDS production version

POWER PLANT

Two Turbo-Union RB199-34R turbofans, fitted with bucket type thrust reversers and installed in rear fuselage with downward-opening doors for servicing and engine change.
Mk101 engines of early production aircraft nominally rated at 38.7 kN (8,700 lb st) dry and 66.0 kN (14,840 lb st) with afterburning (uninstalled).
RAF aircraft have engines downrated to 37.7 kN (8,475 lb st) in squadron service (37.0 kN; 8,320 lb st dry for TTTE) to extend service life.
Mk 103 engines were introduced in May 1983. Dry thrust rated at 40.5 kN (9,100 lb st) but downrated for RAF to 38.5 kN (8,650 lb st) and provide 71.5 kN (16,075 lb st) with afterburning.
RAF ordered 100 modification kits in 1983 to upgrade Mk 101 engine aircraft to Mk 103 standard.
VG air intakes locked open on RAF aircrafts.
All internal fuel in multicell Uniroyal self-sealing integral fuselage tanks and/or wing box tanks, all fitted with press-in fuel sampling and water drain plugs and all refuelled from a single-point NATO connector.
Wing tanks total 955 litres (252 US gallons; 210 Imp gallons).
Fuselage tanks total 4,887 litres (1,290 US gallons; 1,075 Imp gallons).
Additional 551 litre (145.5 US gallon; 121 Imp gallon) tank in fin (on RAF aircraft only).
Total internal fuel: 5,842 litres (1,542 US gallons; 1,285 Imp gallons) in German and Italian aircrafts.
Total internal fuel: 6,393 litres (1,688 US gallons; 1,406 Imp gallons) in RAF and Saudi aircrafts.
Detachable and retractable in-flight refuelling probe can be mounted on starboard side of fuselage, adjacent cockpit.
Some German Navy, Italian Air Force and RAF aircraft (from 1991) adapted to carry Sargent-Fletcher Type 28-300 1,135 litre (300 US gallon; 250 Imp gallon) buddy type hose/drogue refuelling pod.

ARMAMENT

Fixed armament comprises of two 27 mm IWKA-Mauser cannon, one in each side of lower forward fuselage with 180 rds/gun. Port gun removed in GR. Mk4.
Other armament varies according to version and country with the GEC-Marconi stores management system.
Sandall Mace 355 and 762 mm (14 and 30 in) ejector release units standard on UK Tornados.
German and Italian aircraft use multiple weapons carriage system (MWCS) ejector release units.
ML Aviation CBLS 200 practice bomb carriers also standard.
Battlefield interdiction version is capable of carrying weapons for hard or soft targets.
Weapons carried on seven fuselage and wing hardpoints.
One centreline pylon fitted with single ejection release unit (ERU), two fuselage shoulder pylons each with three ERUs and under each wing, one inboard and one outboard pylon each with single ERU.
Weapons that can be equipped on the Tornado include:

Nuclear bombs
Sidewinder air-to-air
ALARM or AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles
JP233 low-altitude airfield attack munitions dispenser
Paveway II and III laser-guided bomb
Maverick
Sea Eagle and Kormoran air-to-surface missiles
Napalm
BL755 cluster bombs (277 kg; 611 lb Mk1 or 264 kg; 582 lb Mk 2)
MW-1 munitions dispenser
1,000 lb bombs
smart or dumb bombs
BLU-1B 750 lb fire bombs
Mk 83 1,000 lb and Mk 82 500 lb bombs
Mk 20 Rockeye cluster bombs
Matra 250 kg ballistic and dumb bombs
Lepus flare bombs
LAU-51A and LR-25 rocket launchers
APACHE standoff weapons dispenser from 1997

DIMENSIONS
Wing span:
Fully spread:	13.91 m	45 ft 7 ˝ in
Fully swept:	8.60 m	28 ft 2 ˝ in
Length overall:	16.72 m	54 ft 10 Ľ in
Height overall:	5.95 m	19 ft 6 Ľ in
Tailplane span:	6.80 m	22 ft 3 ˝ in
Wing area:	26.60 m²	286.3 sq ft
WEIGHTS AND LOADINGS
Basic weight empty, approx:	13,890 kg	30,620 lb
Weight empty, equipped:	14,091 kg	31,065 lb
Max internal fuel:	4,663 kg	10,280 lb
Nominal max external stores load:	9,000 kg +	19,840 lb +
Max T-O weight:
Clean, full internal fuel:	20,411 kg	45,000 lb
With external stores, approx:	27,950 kg	61,620 lb
PERFORMANCE
Max Mach No. in level flight at altitude, clean:	2.2
Max level speed, clean:	800 kt +	1,480 km/h +; 920 mph +
Max level speed with external stores:	Mach 0.92	600 kt; 1,112 km/h; 691 mph
Time to 9,150 m (30,00 ft) from brake release:	under 2 minutes
Service ceiling:	50,000 ft +	15,240 m +
Combat radius, with heavy weapons, hi-lo-lo-hi:	750 n miles	1,390 km; 863 miles
Ferry range, approx:	2,100 n miles	3,890 km; 2,417 miles